Deo volente.

Fox’s Steve Centanni – Still Missing

Steve Centanni and his news partner, freelance cameraman Olaf Wiig, are still missing after being kidnapped in Gaza. That’s Gaza in Israel. Does that strike anyone else? After being told until I’m sick of hearing it that the Palestinians are the oppressed and shouldn’t be lumped in with the other “terrorists”, they pull this kidnapping.

Can we call the Palestinians terrorists now? Can we acknowledge that Gaza and the West Bank are fronts in the war on terror? Hey, what about calling the “State” of Palestine (sic) a state sponsor of terrorism? I guess the answer is “yes” unless they can prove Centanni is part of the great Zionist Cabal operating out of Zurich … then this kidnapping is ok.

But on a more personal note, I’m a little shamed that this has fallen off my personal radar screen. Centanni is one of the journalists from the old school, getting into the thick of things, finding the unique angle at the front, delivering the facts and the stories. And he’s an American journalist who has been kidnapped and threatened by thuggery and brutality.

Is there any doubt that Centanni’s affiliation with Fox and their relatively unbiased coverage of Israel is behind this kidnapping? Is there any doubt that IslamoFascism writ large lifted their ban on harming journos to target Fox via Centanni?

Well, yeah. To both of them. But not much.
And one other point – does anyone think that Centanni will give the terrorists the fluff treatment that they received from Jill Carroll? I don’t, and I don’t think the terrorists think that he will either. And that is bad news indeed.

Rogue groups? Acting on their own? Demanding statist and political ends? I question the timing and the connections … being a terrorist in Gaza has got to be like being a guitarist in Seattle in the ’90s. Everyone know everyone else and plays in each other’s bands …

The crew’s Palestinian driver told security officials their car had been stopped in Gaza City … He said masked gunmen ordered the men into another vehicle and they were driven away.

This sounds like an inside job of some sort. How else did the kidnappers know the route, the take, the stakes?

Missing the Frickin’ Point Update:

Mark Carallo in the NY Daily News is warning the US Government to stop going aftter journalists in the leak cases:

Will federal prosecutors use this case as the precedent to go after reporters for getting leaks? It’s not wild speculation. In public statements, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hinted that this may be an avenue of attack in future cases.

So this guy can’t or won’t make the distinction between treasonous behavior / sedition. That puts him solidly in line with the American Left, especially with this line:

The press is the last line of defense in a free society. If government feels that it can compel reporters to give up confidential sources in non-life-threatening matters, then reporters will be less likely to pursue stories involving government corruption and other abuses. And there are moments when the press is the only place a real whistleblower can go to expose corruption.

Boy, he gets all the good words in there: whistleblower, compel, abuses.

So why lump this with the Centanni story? Because it’s offensive that Americans, and espectially the American Left, will put the shields up to defend a free press, but not rush to the defense of Centanni. Nary a cry is there urging vicious and quick retaliation for Centanni’s kidnapping.
Leakers and Whistleblowers: worth defending. Centanni: Not worth defending.

The nuanced Left: they can tell the difference between good and evil just by the channel you’re on.